Trash to Treasure

It’s not having the chemically perfect ratio of sugar to water in the tree stand pan, or copping out and buying a fake one.

To keep your tannenbaum truly evergreen, try decorating it with ornaments made from office and household materials you can easily recycle into cute handmade creations.

The architects at Philip K White & Associates clean their office every December and use what they’d otherwise toss to create fun and crafty ornaments for the office tree. We asked them to give us a quick how-to.

Want to see more detailed directions? Catch Living Lei Chic, our regular segment on Hawaii News Now’s Sunrise morning show, tomorrow, Thursday, at 6:40 a.m. We’ll show you step by step how to make one.

Keyboard Wreath or Tree
You’ll Need: An old computer keyboard, a hot-glue gun or super glue, leftover wrapping ribbon or garland, beads (for wreath).Directions: Pop keys off keyboard. Stack into tree shape or arrange in circle. Dot keys with hot glue, hold to set them together. Add ribbon bows, beads, or garlands for decorations. Tie a piece of ribbon in a loop, glue one end to back of ornament. Hang on tree.

Lightbulb ReindeerMaterials: Burned-out lightbulb, brown paper bag, small mixiing bowl, Elmer’s glue, water, pipe cleaners, hole punch and colored paper, scissors.Directions: Cut brown paper bag into small strips. Mix glue with water to form a thin liquid. Soak paper strips in diluted glue until they are completely soaking wet. Wrap wet strips around bulb to cover. Let dry about an hour. Wrap pipe cleaners around base of lightbulb to form antlers and tree hook. Glue hole-punched paper and pipe cleaners on bulb end to form face. Hang on tree.

Computer Mouse SnowmanYou'll Need: Old computer mouse, a hot-glue gun or super glue, fabric or wrapping paper scraps, ribbon, hole punch, paper, old golf tees.Directions: Using fabric or ribbon scraps, tie a scarf around mouse, then use a circle-shaped scrap to make a hat. Glue ribbon around edge to make trim. Use ribbon to cinch top of hat around mouse cord. Make face using old golf tee for nose (glue tee end down) and hole-punched paper (colored with marker) for eyes. Tie mouse cord into loop. Hang on tree.

Magazine TreeYou'll Need: An old magazine or catalog, leftover ribbon or garland, stapler or glueDirections: Tear off the magazine/catalog covers if they are thicker paper. Fold each page three times (see steps below): top right corner down, then the diagonal folded edge into the seam, then fold the bottom edge up to make it even with bottom of rest of pages. Repeat for every page in magazine or catalog. Staple or glue first and last pages together to make the rounded shape. Decorate with ribbon or garland. Set on table or shelf. Try using different size magazines or catalogs to create a "family" of trees.

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About This Blog

Lei Chic is an email and shopping blog that plugs you into Hawai‘i’s newest and hottest boutiques, designers, trends, spas and salons, and more. You’ll also discover all the cool events, dinners and sales happening around town in our Weekend Picks every Friday. With Lei Chic, you’ll get the inside scoop on what everyone will be talking about tomorrow—in your inbox today.

Lei Chic Associate Editor Natalie Schack has been a cultural anthropology student, museum worker bee and dabbler in graphic design. When she isn’t scouting new fashion, compiling to-do lists or crafting puns, Natalie spends her free time dreaming up elaborate picnic ideas; “researching” via YouTube tutorials, blogs and Instagram; and dusting off her pith helmet for the next adventure life throws her way.